The Mercy

Synopsis

Based on the true story

In 1968, Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor, endangers the fate of his family and business, and his own life, blinded by his ambition to compete in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, attempting to become the first person in history to single-handedly circumnavigate the world without making any stopover.

a thing i don't tend to think about when reflecting upon art is "what's the point?" i think asking that question at the root of something reduces it to a thesis statement, why does this exist, what does it serve etc, are questions that don't interest me, especially due to the intense subjectivity of such a statement and the disparity between a filmmaker and audience's perspective on the "point" of an artistic accomplishment. you can have an idea of the emotion or the themes or something you want to convey, or you can follow your heart, create images out of nowhere and flow with a stream of consciousness into creating something that can't be defined to a core point, that…

In The Theory of Everything, James Marsh explored the relationship of a couple through their established connections and turbulence as it nurtures the vision of the patriarch that eventually reshaped the foundations of science and our very existence. That was a film that brought Marsh to the mainstream limelight with the film garnering awards during the race, prominently Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal as Stephen Hawking. It was a well-constructed film, one that manages to be tender through the subversion of expectations and bringing Hawking’s wife, Jane (Felicity Jones), into the primary fold of the narrative’s engine, which in turn allowed her performance to be at par in significance and impact as Redmayne’s.

During his lifetime each man plays cosmic chess with the devil. It's difficult to know who's winning, because God plays with one set of rules, the devil plays with the other exactly opposite set of rules. But one thing is clear. The only real sin is the sin of concealment.

Clare Crowhurst: My children will still need a father, and I will still need a husband.

A retelling of the true-story of amateur sailor and inventor Donald Crowhurst's ill-fated attempt at the 1968 one-man, non-stop, round-the-world boat-race. The dramatic tension is unbearable in the first half, watching the lovable face of Colin Firth (as Crowhurst) slowly drain of colour as he understands he is going to die but must sail off anyway. Once he is alone on the water, the film felt less confident about what to do with the story.

The only mercy i need if from the lord himself. Colin Firth is a great actor and you know what you are going to get with him. His performance was, once again, faultless. However, the film just doesn't do anything for you. It is a little emotional at the end and very heart breaking when he dies, however that seems to be the only part of the film which really gets you captivated. The rest of the movie it is just a man on a boat trying to sail the world. You rally can't make it any more exciting than it was.

When Colin Firth gave himself a perfect haircut using a hunting knife on a rocking boat in poor light I laughed like a demon. Which was nice cos by christ the rest of it was a slog. A weird waste of what is a fascinating mystery. Disappointing from Marsh.